As with every other chapter, the same applies this time- I SOOOOO don't own pretty much anything in this. People, places and the different races of Valdemar (& surrounding countries, etc) belong to Mercedes Lackey.
....okay, here's the next chapter. Seriously, I know it's been a while, but the only reason this chapter is out now is because of my Dad....see, I have an order in which I work on my stories (to make sure they all get worked on and don't just sit there forever *cough*EternalReflections*cough*. Yeah, so it's my Dad (bakayarou! Heh, heh, just kidding! ^.^;;) who's badgered me into doing a chapter of "Angel Wings" NOW, instead of waiting for it's turn. Happy Dad? :p No bothering me for the next chapter until I've worked on another of my stories!
Ne, kind of a badly-written chapter. Yeah. Sorry 'bout that....
I had been both looking forward to and dreading the moment when Meriol woke up for quite some time....I was tired, and I slept deeply after Lani left....but I was still up before the sun was even peeking over the horizon the next morning. And as I waited for Meriol to drag his lazy tail back into the land of the living, I had to be at least a little nervous. Like I said, looking forward to and dreading it at the same time.
I was going to be alone with him....just the two of us....
Which I can handle.
But at the same time....okay, when he'd gone to sleep, Lani had been with us. When he woke up and she was gone without a trace, I didn't know just HOW he would react. Then again, he wasn't exactly a morning person so he might not even realize she was missing until midday.
I sighed.
Anything was possible, really.
While waiting for him to wake, I satiated the hunger that was gnawing at me; my stomach had been growling since I'd woken. The grass near the Waystation, somehow, tasted just the same as the grass of the Field- sweet and juicy....you might not think of grass that way, but to Companions the taste and texture of the grass we graze on is very important.
Would you like bitter, grainy pastries?
I didn't think so.
Anyway, I was slightly surprised by the taste of the grass where we had stayed for the night; normally, the grass from the Field was above and beyond the normal grasses in Valdemar. Why....well, to be honest I really don't know. It might have something to do with the Grove, or Companion's magic. Maybe the nodes that surround Haven?
In any case, the 'normal' grasses weren't something we particularly looked forward to.
I had to wonder how the grass at the Weygandt Station was the way it was....
Magic? Spells? Maybe just a good gardener....
Not that I'm complaining, I thought to myself. Now, if the grass had been dry and bitter, I might have.... shaking my head, I found- despite the insistent pull at my heart- that my thoughts were drifting to Lani. I hope she's okay.... a weak chuckle; :what am I saying?: I asked myself out loud, :of COURSE she is! She was only going back to Weygandt, so-:
:Um, Sera?:
:!!!: I jumped in surprise at Meriol's Voice and had to attempt to calm my heart and catch my breath before responding. He watched, seeming torn between confusion and amusement at my reaction. :Meriol! By the Bright Lady, you SCARED me!:
:Did I?: He asked innocently, his eye sparkling.
:You did.: I snorted, somewhat suspiciously. Damn him! He'd MEANT to do it! :Then again, I thought you might have DIED, you slept for so long. You caught me off-guard searching for a suitable plot to bury someone with a head your size.:
:Was that a remark on the size of my ego?:
:Well it obviously wasn't about the size of your brain....:
:Hey!:
:Grass is cheaper.: I giggled, feeling better because of his....'humor' was pushing the word, but.... :Bright-The-Day, by the way.: Turning, I paced toward the stream to drink. :You should eat so that we can get going. I want to make it to the border by tomorrow morning at the latest, so we have to move.:
:We should be fine time-wise.: Meriol told me, dipping his head to snatch a mouthful of grass. :It's only a candemark after dawn, so if we only stop once then we'll be there by sundown for sure. Assuming we can keep Lani out of-: he broke off suddenly, realizing something. :Sera....where's Lani?:
And so came the question I had been dreading.
:Uh, Lani...?: I swallowed the water that had been in my mouth and looked at him over my shoulder. :So....um, Lani had....somewhere to go....you know, something to do. She left last night, wished me good luck and all....:
:She LEFT?:
:Yes?:
:After all the fuss she made about not going with you into Karse, she just LEFT?:
:I guess.:
He shook his head in amazement. :But- but why?:
:Okay, look, don't make a big deal about this, alright?: I sighed. What could I do? There was no point in telling him something other than the truth. It wouldn't sound probably anyway, not with him knowing Lani as well as I did. :She woke me up last night to tell me she was going back to Weygandt.:
:O-o-o-kay. But WHY?:
He was clearly confused. Ah, but I would have been too. Lani really HAD wanted to go right to the end with me, so there seemed to be no reason for her to have left. Again, things happen....it just happened to be a Calling 'occurrence' that separated us. I had expected SOMETHING to break up our group before Karse, anyway....
....from the look on Meriol's face, though, us separating before the border wasn't something that had occurred to him.
:Sera?:
:She tells me she was Called last night.:
A blank stare. :What?:
:Lani,: I said, slower, :Felt the Calling and went back to Weygandt to find her Chosen.:
Still staring blankly. :....you're joking, aren't you?:
:His name is Denny.:
:Seriously, Sera. Ha, ha, very funny.:
:Meriol!: He was beginning to tick me off. Snorting in irritation, I walked over to him and nipped his neck, making him twitch. :Listen to me! Lani. Went. Out. Choosing. She's going to take Denny- she told me that's his name- back to Haven. We'll see her there, okay? It's no big deal.:
:No big....: Meriol's Mindvoice was still soft and surprised. :No big deal? She's....you're....and she's....BOTH OF YOU? By the Gods, I'm the only one left!: He sighed then, and was silent for a long moment. Finally; :it's not fair, you know.:
Surprise. :What?:
He looked at me mournfully. :You're on your way to Choose....Lani's on HER way to Choose....and me? I'm along for the ride because I haven't been Called. It's not fair, it's really not.:
:Whiner.: I shook my head and started toward the main road. :Come on, we should go.:
He took a moment to catch up with me, and I got the feeling he was staring at me as I calmly paced away. Probably wondering how I could take it all so in-stride....if he knew how I was really feeling at that moment I doubt he would have felt that life was all that unfair.
Scared....rushed....anxious....
Conflicting emotions warred in my heart and mind, and I couldn't make much sense of them; they all stemmed from my Calling, I was sure. And, I was also sure, all would be rectified once I reached the border.
It was still so far away....
Soon. I reminded myself. We'll reach Karse and I'll find that Soul.
:Sera!: Bridle bells jingling merrily, Meriol trotted up beside me just as I reached the road. I paused for a moment, saying nothing to him, and glanced back the way we had come, thinking of Lani. :You know, she's going to rub it in once I get back.:
:Rub what in?:
:The fact that she found and returned with her Chosen before I did.:
:Ah, I see.: Meriol considered, glancing in the direction that I was looking. :Yup. Probably.: He chuckled, :but that's Lani for you, right? May the Gods help Haven if that Denny boy is like her in any way.:
:Why?:
:Well I'm just saying,: he told me as we started walking again; :sometimes we Choose people who're like us....and I repeat- may the Gods help us all if Denny's like Lani. That's ALL we need, hey? TWO of them....:
I giggled when he shuddered mentally.
:You're not very nice.: I laughed, :you know as well as I that Lani's a sweetheart.:
:Yes, and a nutcase.: Meriol agreed good naturedly, :YOU know as well as I do that she's a complete loony.:
:....true.: I had to concede. :But I think the Heralds could stand to be shaken up once and a while.:
:Like when Firesong and the Gryphons arrived?:
:Well....maybe not THAT shaken up....:
Meriol laughed, shaking his head. Again, the bells jingled, catching my attention; that was one thing that I wished I hadn't had to bring along. The tack that we were both hauling around was beginning to wear on my nerves. I couldn't speak for Meriol, but I was certainly getting tired of it....but then, I had to have it with me for when I found the Soul I was in search of.
How else will they ride back to Haven?
I DID feel bad for Meriol, though- he wasn't Searching, and hadn't been Called. He was only wearing the heavy, chafing tack because they may not have allowed him to leave without it. When he presented himself to be tacked up, they assumed he was going out Choosing....
And so they let him leave with me. Same with Lani, for that matter....though it turns out she needed it anyway.
There wasn't much to do as we trotted. We chatted about things for a while- mostly random talking just to keep from going crazy with boredom. The trees and bushes blurred together, finally, and we just ignored the surroundings as we went.
Once, a family with a wagon and a team of bay horses passed us on the road. The children in the back pointed and giggled, amazed to see Companions; still, we were and are creatures of legend. Things of magic and splendor.
Both Meriol and I graced them with whinnies and the flicking of our manes, making the bells ring brightly.
It was obviously a thing they enjoyed, given the simplicity of the gestures.
Pointing and happy chuckling followed our horse-like greeting, and shortly after that their parents chided and shushed them into respective silence. Magical we were, and to children we were dreams and fantasies, but to their parents we were important. The adults knew that we had a purpose. They knew were important to Valdemar's survival.
They probably hoped we would Choose one of their younglings as we passed.
A vain hope, with the tugging at my heart....
:Sera, look-:
:Hm?:
Meriol tipped his nose forward after the wagon and it's giggling passengers were past, snorting, :a town. Do you suppose that's where they were coming from?:
:Sure, why not?: I agreed.
My eyes flitted over the few houses and dusty streets as we trotted into the town; I didn't recognize it at all, but of course I had never been outside of Haven. I also couldn't recall the name from my Geography lessons, which meant that it wasn't a very big place and never had been. It may have even been small enough that it wasn't on the maps at all....
Sweetsprings? Maybe....no, no, that's not it.
I was rather annoyed with myself for not remembering, but eventually I had to push the annoyance to the side as unimportant.
:Amusing, isn't it?:
I didn't have to ask what Meriol was talking about; most of the town had emerged from their houses to line the street as we passed. As with the family on the road, they were drawn to our magic; children and their parents, as well as the elderly. They were all alike in their awe.
It was funny, mostly because WE knew how un-special we really were.
"Mama!" One little boy called brightly, "those are Companions, aren't they?"
"Shush," his mother- a portly woman with mouse brown hair- hushed him. "Of course they're Companions, what horses have you ever seen with blue eyes? But they're Searching right now, so don't bother them."
"But-"
The child's whining made Meriol chuckle. :One moment, Sera?:
I sighed. :I suppose....but HURRY, okay?:
:Sure.: Flicking his tail, Meriol paused by the side of the street, relatively near the boy and his mother, and nibbled at some grass that was growing from between the cobblestones. Then, listing his gaze, he bobbed his head in greeting, smiling at the Little with his eyes. :See, Sera? I just want to say hello without Saying anything. That way no one will think that I Chose him.:
:You're an idiot.:
:Thanks for that.:
:Welcome.:
"Mama, can I touch it?"
The woman looked pensively toward Meriol, who simply nodded his head once again. "Well, if it's alright with the Master Companion and his Lady, there, I don't suppose there's any harm in it."
His Lady? I thought. :Your Lady?:
:My Lady?: Meriol chuckled, :what an....interesting....idea.:
My hide twitched. Of all the things to say....
"Really, Mama?" The boy squealed, "really?" Then, looking to Meriol; "Sir, can I?"
Snorting, Meriol reached with his nose as the boy approached and nudged his shoulder amiably. There was a stifled gasp from the people on the street, but the boy giggled excitedly and patted Meriol's nose.
"Good horsey!"
:Horsey....: I snickered. :You hear that, Meriol?:
:Shut up.:
"Mama! Look!" The boy shouted happily; "look!"
"Very nice, dear, but don't delay them any longer."
"Aw, but-"
"Relin!" His mother sighed, "they have places to be."
The boy pouted in defeat and patted Meriol once more. "Mama says I gotta' let you go, now. Bye, Master Companion!"
Meriol lipped him. :I like him, Sera! Can I keep him?:
:He's not a puppy, Meriol.: I groaned, :so either Choose him or send him on his way.:
The mental pout that Meriol gave me echoed the boy's in every sense of the word, but he nodded. :You know I can't just Choose ANYONE, so I guess he stays here. That's too bad. I could have liked being called 'Master Companion' or 'Sir'.:
:He wouldn't have called you that if you were Bonded.: I pointed out, beginning to walk again, and not waiting for him to catch up.
He would be along in a moment, I knew. Meriol was such a softy when it came to Littles....
:Meriol, are you coming or n-:
::BY THE SON, NO!::
I jumped, shocked at the shriek in my mind, and my steps faltered. A few yards down the cobblestone street, Meriol's head jerked up and his eyes landed on me- he'd heard the mental shout, too, it seemed.
::PLEASE! HELP! PLEASE, SOMEONE-! PLEASE HELP ME!::
And I knew, by the Bright Goddess, I KNEW the voice....it was the Soul I was in search for....I KNEW....panic gripped my heart in an instant. I threw my head up, flaring my nostrils, my eyes rolling....I must have looked crazed to those who were watching....
::PLEASE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! SOMEONE! ANYONE!::
:Sera?: Meriol's voice called, trying to reach me over the hysteria of the Voice we were both Hearing. :Sera, what-?:
I couldn't respond. The hysterics of the Soul I was Feeling were getting to me.
As I had feared, the urgency of my Calling had turned to desperation....
....and it had happened in a heartbeat.
::NO, NO! PLEASE, NO!::
I was going.
Then.
Right then.
:Sera!:
I ignored Meriol again and broke into a gallop, racing from the town as fast as I could. Behind me, I could hear Meriol scrambling to catch up. He was frightened, the same as I, but he had no purpose behind him running, other than to make sure I was alright.
::-PLEASE, YOU CAN'T! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I'M SORRY! PLEASE, PLEASE-::
:I'm coming!: I screamed mentally, my Voice echoing down the vague mental corridor. :Just wait for me, I'm coming! I'm on my way-:
I'd never run so fast in my life.